Ex-Boyfriend Allegedly Hired a Man to Rape Her for ¥30,000—What the Court Revealed

“I could do this myself”

On July 9, a lay judge trial was held at the Tokyo District Court for defendant Reiya Yamamoto (25 at the time of his arrest), who is charged with trespassing and non-consensual sexual intercourse, among other offenses, after allegedly responding to a “yami baito” job and entering an apartment in Tokyo, where he sexually assaulted a woman.

“In connection with this case, defendant Retsu Matsuda (27 at the time of his arrest), who allegedly acted as the instigator, has also been arrested. Matsuda was the former boyfriend of the victim, Ms. A, and posted a message on an online bulletin board seeking someone to carry out sexual assault on a woman. He conveyed the details of the crime and Ms. A’s address to Yamamoto, who responded to the posting, via social media. On the day of the crime, Yamamoto visited Ms. A’s home pretending to be a water utility worker, saying, ‘I’m here to inspect the water supply.’ He entered the apartment and carried out the assault.” (National newspaper crime reporter)

Yamamoto appeared in court wearing a black tracksuit. He was a large man, apparently over 180 centimeters tall and weighing close to 100 kilograms, with narrow, upturned eyes that gave him an intimidating appearance. Regarding the charges, he partially denied the allegations, stating, “I did not have sexual intercourse. Other than that, everything is true.”

The defense’s opening statement revealed the circumstances leading up to the crime.

Around mid-May 2025, Yamamoto searched online using terms such as “yami baito” and “rape.” On an online bulletin board, he found a post that read, “Would you rape someone for 30,000 yen?” Thinking, “I could do this myself,” he contacted the KakaoTalk ID listed in the post. Matsuda allegedly replied, “I want you to rape her right in front of me,”and provided instructions for carrying out the crime as well as Ms. A’s address.

On June 2, 2025, Yamamoto rang the intercom at the woman’s home while remaining connected to Matsuda via a voice call. He stayed on the call after entering the apartment. He also allegedly used his smartphone to film the incident while carrying out the sexual acts. Afterward, Matsuda told him to leave the apartment, and Yamamoto departed.

The agreed-upon payment was 30,000 yen. However, according to the prosecution’s opening statement, Yamamoto’s PayPay account showed only two deposits that appeared to be payment for the crime: 738 yen on June 2 and 5,000 yen the following day. While acknowledging that Yamamoto had committed lewd acts, the defense argued that the key issue was whether sexual intercourse took place or not, and maintained that sentencing was the central point of dispute.

At the July 10 hearing, Ms. A took the stand and described in detail what happened on the day of the crime, as well as the anguish she experienced.

At the first hearing held the previous day, Yamamoto had partially denied the charges, stating, “I did not have sexual intercourse. Other than that, everything is true.”

“If you scream, I’ll kill you”

Ms. A testified remotely from a separate room. During questioning by the prosecution, details of what happened on the day of the crime emerged. Her voice trembled with tension, and she occasionally fell silent, speaking in a faint and subdued voice. The following is based on Ms. A’s testimony.

Shortly after midnight on June 2, 2025, the intercom at Ms. A’s home rang. She had already gone to bed, but got up to answer it. She was told, “I’m here to inspect the water supply, so I’d like to check the plumbing,” and she unlocked the building’s automatic entrance.

Defendant Yamamoto entered the apartment while talking to someone on his smartphone and checked the plumbing in areas such as the kitchen and bathroom. When Yamamoto said, “I’m going to talk to the person upstairs,” and briefly left the apartment, Ms. A called her former boyfriend, B. B told her, “It’s pretty late, and isn’t this suspicious?” It was only then that she realized it was already past midnight.

When Yamamoto returned, he asked Ms. A, “Are you scared?” He then said, “I’ll be done once I make one final check,” and entered the apartment again, before suddenly grabbing her. Ms. A desperately resisted, but she was 152 centimeters tall and weighed 42 kilograms, while Yamamoto was approximately 180 centimeters tall and close to 100 kilograms. Faced with such a disparity in physical size, she was unable to resist.

He covered her mouth and nose and threatened her, “If you scream, I’ll kill you.” He then restrained both of her wrists behind her back with a zip tie and began sexually assaulting her. When the zip tie loosened, she attempted to escape, but Yamamoto pinned her face-down in the bathroom area and threatened her again, saying, “I really will kill you.” She then gave up resisting.

During the assault, Yamamoto filmed Ms. A with his smartphone.

Ms. A later recalled the situation at the time, saying, “It seemed like he was talking to someone on a video call.”

After the sexual assault ended, Yamamoto demanded money, saying, “Can I borrow a charger?” and “How much money do you have?”

“When I told him, ‘I have 50,000 yen,’ he said, 10,000 yen is enough, and demanded 10,000 yen.”

After taking the money from Ms. A, Yamamoto reportedly said without showing any remorse:

“I went too far with what I did to you, and I got in trouble for it. Don’t tell anyone about me asking you for money, either.”

When Ms. A asked, “Who told you to come here?” Yamamoto hinted at the involvement of Matsuda, the alleged instigator, saying, “Just as you thought. I’m actually not supposed to tell you.”

As he left the apartment, he repeatedly threatened her, saying, “I’ll kill you if you report this. Even if I get arrested, someone else will come and kill you.” He then left the scene.

“I’m even afraid to take a shower”

Ms. A, who was unable to move for some time because of fear, said:

“I was afraid to report it myself because I thought I might be under surveillance, so I asked B via LINE to report it for me.”

She also said that the trauma caused by the assault has been severe.

“I live with tremendous anxiety every day. Things I used to be able to do have become impossible. I became afraid of being alone, and it has seriously affected my daily life. I can no longer take a bath. I’m even afraid to take a shower. I have developed a fear of men, and I’ve increasingly found myself in frightening situations at work. I can’t help feeling anxious when I think about the defendant being released back into society.” (Ms. A)

During subsequent questioning by the defense, Ms. A was asked, “Did it appear that Yamamoto was receiving instructions?” She replied:

“Sometimes. He said, ‘I didn’t really want to do this, but I was asked to, so I had no choice.’”

Regarding who she believed was giving him the instructions, she said:

“I thought it could only have been Matsuda.”

Matsuda and Ms. A had been in a relationship, but she said she had blocked his calls because he asked me to engage in abnormal sexual acts and tried to make me overdose.

The defense also asked her the following:

“You met Matsuda through a dating app, correct? Didn’t he give you 200,000 yen a month, and didn’t you receive 30,000 to 50,000 yen every time you had sexual intercourse?”

Ms. A responded, “There was a period when that was the case.”

According to a statement recorded during the investigation, Matsuda said that he had spent between 8 million and 10 million yen on Ms. A, raising the possibility that resentment over money may have triggered the incident. Ms. A testified:

“Before the incident, I didn’t think he resented me.”

Yamamoto was scheduled to be questioned by the court on July 14, but he exercised his right to remain silent, and no questioning of the defendant took place.

At the subsequent hearing on July 16, prosecutors determined, based on the results of Ms. A’s medical examination, that sexual intercourse had occurred. They condemned Yamamoto, stating:

“The crime was malicious and showed evidence of planning. He also acted when he was not receiving instructions from Matsuda. The defendant and Matsuda were in an equal relationship, rather than one in which the defendant was subordinate.”

The prosecution sought a sentence of 13 years in prison.

When the presiding judge asked Yamamoto, “Is there anything you would like to say in closing?”, he apologized:

“My selfish actions have caused deep physical wounds and killed her spirit. I am prepared to accept whatever punishment I deserve. I am truly sorry.”

An unprecedented case of sexual violence being outsourced through a “yami baito” scheme. The verdict for this despicable crime is scheduled to be handed down on July 23.